my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

Dieter@be · 2012-05-22 08:53:57

hardware and software:

* thinkpad t420s, brand new with standard battery
* CPU: i7-2640M CPU @ 2.80GHz, 4 cores. frequency scaling is enabled, they all usually run at 800MHz (ondemand governor)
* intel SSD, no HDD
* wifi: iwlwifi: Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6205 AGN, REV=0xB0
* thinkfan is installed, but couldn't get it configured properly. TODO
* kernel args

[dieter@dieter-t420s ~]$ cat /proc/cmdline
BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/mapper/cryptpool-root ro root=/dev/mapper/cryptpool-root cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:sda3crypt:allow-discards ro add_efi_memmap i915.modeset=1 i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 pcie_aspm=force quiet quiet add_efi_memmap

bios options:
* graphics is set to optimus (though i don't have bumblebee/optimus enabled right now, I haven't needed to attach an external display). TODO force "built-in GPU" in bios, maybe that helps.
* intel speedstep set to optimal battery usage when not on AC
* adaptive thermal management set to "balanced" (it's that or performance)
* cpu power management enabled
* pci-e power management enabled

test:with some basic usage (say 40 min of browsing over wifi and watching some vids, and the rest idle) it doesn't last 2 hours. (about 1h50min)

although I think I have all the most important things taken care of, I'll also have a look at https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=134109 and maybe laptop mode tools (I did look at it, but as i don't have a HDD and i have frequency scaling already enabled...)
I'll also need to try some power diagnostic tools like powertop or whatever it was.

any more tips? this is kindof disappointing, I was expecting 4-5-6 hours.. thanks!

Last edited by Dieter@be (2012-05-22 08:54:48)

skunktrader · 2012-05-22 09:38:04

What kernel version? There is a current open bug that also seems to be present in other distros. You might try downgrading to 3.3.4-2 to see if it improves things.

litemotiv · 2012-05-22 10:24:30

My first thought would be that your discrete GPU is running at full power all the time..

toad · 2012-05-22 10:27:25

You gone through https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/La … Management?

Dieter@be · 2012-05-22 11:42:10

skunktrader wrote:

What kernel version? There is a current open bug that also seems to be present in other distros. You might try downgrading to 3.3.4-2 to see if it improves things.

I'm still on 3.3.2

Did a new test, with the nvidia gpu disabled through bios, it clocks *exactly* 3 hours, but fully idle, wifi hardware disabled.

Last edited by Dieter@be (2012-05-22 15:17:57)

teateawhy · 2012-05-22 13:38:28

try this:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/TLP

Jristz · 2012-05-23 03:20:22

try [AUR] powerdown
and disable flash and no use composite

jdahm · 2012-05-23 03:31:02

I have a T420 (didn't want to bother with the dedicated GPU) and get 6+ hours. I followed the steps on 'Laptop' on the wiki, installed tp_smapi, thinkfan, granola, etc.

i also had trouble getting thinkfan to work. The trick I found with it is to stop the daemon and launch it manually (with the -n flag, as shown in the rc.d daemon script) to see what it complains about. After a few iterations to thinkfan.conf the daemon seemed to start without problem. This thread (found on the thinkwiki AUR page) helped me the most: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1749186&page=1.

Dieter@be · 2012-05-23 16:38:36

jdahm wrote:

I have a T420 (didn't want to bother with the dedicated GPU) and get 6+ hours. I followed the steps on 'Laptop' on the wiki, installed tp_smapi, thinkfan, granola, etc.
i also had trouble getting thinkfan to work. The trick I found with it is to stop the daemon and launch it manually (with the -n flag, as shown in the rc.d daemon script) to see what it complains about. After a few iterations to thinkfan.conf the daemon seemed to start without problem. This thread (found on the thinkwiki AUR page) helped me the most: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1749186&page=1.

thanks, so what's your thinkfan config?

ANOKNUSA · 2012-05-23 22:14:48

litemotiv wrote:

My first thought would be that your discrete GPU is running at full power all the time..

+1. Unless you absolutely need advanced 3D processing, use the Intel chip and switch to "Integrated" under Display in the BIOS.

- Turn off what you don't need, e.g. Always-On USB, Ultrabay, Ethernet, etc.
- Tweak laptop-mode-tools
- Consider using anything-sync-daemon to cache configs, working files and /var to ram; this'll help minimize disk wake-ups.
- And of course, your laptop screen doesn't always need to be at full brightness, right?

Using these tips, I can squeeze about 3:40 out of it.

jdahm · 2012-05-24 01:28:52

Dieter@be wrote:

jdahm wrote:
I have a T420 (didn't want to bother with the dedicated GPU) and get 6+ hours. I followed the steps on 'Laptop' on the wiki, installed tp_smapi, thinkfan, granola, etc.
i also had trouble getting thinkfan to work. The trick I found with it is to stop the daemon and launch it manually (with the -n flag, as shown in the rc.d daemon script) to see what it complains about. After a few iterations to thinkfan.conf the daemon seemed to start without problem. This thread (found on the thinkwiki AUR page) helped me the most: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1749186&page=1.
thanks, so what's your thinkfan config?

Here it is. Hope this is helpful. You'll probably need to run that find command and replace the four lines which start with "sensor".

## Notes:
# sources:
#  + [url]http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1749186&page=1[/url]
#
# Use this command to find devices:
# find /sys/devices -type f -name "temp*_input"

# Specify the fan to use
fan /proc/acpi/ibm/fan
# Sensors
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp1_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp2_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp3_input
sensor /sys/devices/virtual/hwmon/hwmon2/temp1_input
#(0,     0,      55)
#(1,     48,     60)
#(2,     50,     61)
#(3,     52,     63)
#(4,     56,     65)
#(5,     59,     66)
#(7,     63,     32767)
# More conservative settings
(0, 0, 35)
(1, 33, 38)
(2, 36, 45)
(3, 39, 49)
(4, 46, 58)
(5, 50, 62)
(7, 56, 32767)

Last edited by jdahm (2012-05-24 01:29:35)

donniezazen · 2012-05-24 06:24:51

I am pretty sure you system is running over 20W. I use laptop-mode-tools, linux-ck and bumblebee. I am planning to mess up with cpu freq. And use following kernel line

i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1

My battery life has been good. My system idle at around 10W.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-05-22 08:53:57

my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#2 2012-05-22 09:38:04

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#3 2012-05-22 10:24:30

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#4 2012-05-22 10:27:25

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#5 2012-05-22 11:42:10

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#6 2012-05-22 13:38:28

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#7 2012-05-23 03:20:22

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#8 2012-05-23 03:31:02

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#9 2012-05-23 16:38:36

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#10 2012-05-23 22:14:48

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#11 2012-05-24 01:28:52

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

#12 2012-05-24 06:24:51

Re: my thinkpad t420s doesn't last 2 hours

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